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Today during a visit to the Royal Society of Medicine the Duchess of Cambridge debuted a new hair colour that seems to be a deeper hue that her usual soft brown shade. Wearing a custom Jenny Packham coat and dress, the Duchess' hair was a gorgeous, rich, chestnut colour- a perfect contrast to her green outift. With less than one month to go before the birth of her third child we suspect The Duchess has been catching up on some beauty TLC including a colour touch-up, before she goes on maternity leave and won't have time.

Here is our guide to achieving salon-worthy colour in the comfort of your own home.

At-home hair colour has had a bad rap for being un-precise and messy. But if you have the know-how and the time, it can save you big bucks in the long term and leave you with shiny, beautiful hair colour. Jonathan Long, the UK colour advisor for Clairol's Nice'n Easy, reveals how.

Essential prep

Don’t shampoo your hair straight before colouring, as it will remove the natural oils on your scalp that protect it during the colouring process. Always have a day’s worth of dirt in the hair when you colour so don’t wash your hair for 24 hours before, and do an allergy alert test 48 hours beforehand. Make sure you have old towels on you and on the floor - a bin liner can also be a good alternative for this. A comb is handy to create sections, and a clip to secure your hair in place before you rinse the colour off.

Vaseline is also useful

My top tip for colouring your hair at home is to apply Vaseline around the hair line, tops of ears and nape of your neck to create a barrier against colour travelling where it shouldn’t. Vaseline contains no chemicals unlike most barrier creams and will wash off easily with the colour.

If you're just doing highlights

To avoid colouring sections of your hair that you’re not highlighting, pin the sections away and wrap them in foil to make sure they don’t get coloured.

Now for the colour...

Colouring your hair at home is very simple and easy to follow but I think regular users have a tendency to slip into bad habits with their application technique. If you’re using permanent hair colour, always remember to thoroughly coat the hair and apply generously. Always start at the roots first and work your way down to the tips if you are going for all-over colour. If you do not want to over-colour your hair, work through the mid-lengths and ends of the hair in the last five minutes. If you have very long hair, you may need two packs. The best way when using mousse or cream is to take even sections and then always massage the colour through the hair. To get proper coverage make sure you use a shampooing style of motion to get deep into cuticles.

How to section

Work in ‘hot-cross-bun’ sections, parting your hair from the top of your forehead, down the back of your crown to the nape of your neck, and through the middle over your crown from the top of one ear to the other.

Washing off

When it comes to washing off the colour, spend a few minutes emulsifying the product. Add a little water and massage the colour into the hair ensuring complete coverage, this will also help combat any stains on the skin that may be developing.

What to do if you leave the dye on too long

Keep an eye on the time when colouring – it’s important to get the most out of your home hair colour. Read the instructions on the box carefully. If you do accidentally leave it on for too long your hair will be more prone to dryness so ensure you do a conditioning treatment following your dye, such as nice’n easy's ColourSeal Gloss, £0.99.

What to do if you get colour on your skin

Colour lifts colour, so when rinsing hair colour off, make sure you rub around the hairline to lift any colour off. Using a barrier cream like petroleum jelly will help ensure this doesn’t happen to begin with.

Essential aftercare

Washing your hair is the nemesis of colour so I would recommend waiting as long as you possibly can before washing it after the initial rinse out of colour. Colour doesn’t last because people often wash their hair too quickly and too often - I would recommend washing it only two or three times a week if you can. Use a dry shampoo inbetween washes if your hair can look a bit greasy.